Boston Police Officer Tickets Woman In Labor Trying to Get to Hospital

Jennifer Davis and her husband, John Davis, were facing a nightmare of an expecting couple. Jennifer’s contractions had dropped from five minutes to just three minutes apart and they were stuck in the legendary Boston traffic. John pulled into the breakdown lane and pulled up behind Trooper Michael Galluccio to ask whether they could continue using the lane to reach the next exit. Galluccio not only said no, but he made them wait for him to complete a ticket and even asked Jennifer to show him what was under his shirt to prove it was a baby.

During this unbelievable encounter with Galluccio, Jennifer recounts: “He said, ‘What’s under your jacket?’ I said, ‘My belly,’ He waited and gestured with his head like, ‘OK, let’s see it.’ He waited for me to unzip my jacket. I mean, it was so clear that I was pregnant.”

Notably, previously two other (sane) troopers waved them along in the highway breakdown lane, allowing them to evade gridlock while advising them to be cautious and keep their hazard lights on.

When asked about this outrage, State Police spokesman David Procopio simply noted that state law prohibits driving in breakdown lanes on Route 2. Now, there is an expression of concern. Procopio added “The trooper made a judgment call to enforce the law governing the use of the breakdown lane. If the couple does choose to submit a letter of complaint, we’ll review it in accordance with our procedure.” Nice.

Fortunately, the mother and baby are now fine. The question is what to do with Galluccio While Procopio would also be better in some other job (like parking cars in the police impoundment lot), Galluccio should not be allowed to continue as an officer is that facts are established. My fear is that a deal will be worked out where Galluccio is given retraining and a reprimand. In an emergency of this kind, both the lives of the mother and baby could have been lost. The Department should not have to wait for death or serious bodily injury to recognize someone who lacks the judgment or humanity to wear the badge.

16 thoughts on “Boston Police Officer Tickets Woman In Labor Trying to Get to Hospital”

I was driving fast, heard a pissft sound and went into a spin. My tire blew out. I knew I was coming upon a ravine that was nearly 6 feet deep and decided to turn the wheel sharply. I did everything wrong. When I turn I went upside a boulder and like a ferris wheel came down on the hood of the car. The wreck bent the hood down into the seats and the steering wheel was wrapped between my legs. Only a small mound where my head was kept me from being smashed too. Thanks to Jesus. When they finally got me out with the jars of death machine, I was asked what happened and told the truth, I was speeding. The army flew me to the hospital. When the MP’s came to see if I was alright, they gave me a ticket for speeding. So the police could have helped the couple by getting them to the hospital and then gave them a ticket for speeding.

Prof. Turley hit the nail on the head when he reiterated that the officer wanted to see “under the shirt” of the pregnant woman because he didn’t believe the couple. I know I drove to fast whenever we had to go to the hospital for a delivery. Although, by the fourth one, you do get a little less nervous!

“They should have called 911 and informed them of their situation.
And if this woman was in that dire of a situation, she should have called an AMBULANCE.”

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Your compassion and the uncanny knack you have for 20-20 hindsight is remarkable. I thought talking to a policemen was like calling 9-11. Wonder why he didn’t call the ambulance since he obviously was going to make them wait while he wrote another motorist a ticket. Ever met an authoritarian you didn’t like?

I cannot imagine why driving erratically would excuse this officer. First, they were in a clear emergency. If there was a ticket to be given, then the officer should have gone to the hospital (a good idea even without a hospital) to ensure the safety of the mother and child. Second, how does this fact change the alleged demand to see under a pregnant woman’s shirt?

The police officer was out of line and should be disciplined for it. I do agree with the attempt to create the facts is a also a problem. For people to be concerned with them wanting to go to a specific hospital is unwarranted. Any new mom wants to have the baby delivered by the doctor that they have been working with for the last 9 months. So it is natural for the expectant mother in this case to want to see “her” doctor.

Ya well…..what do you expect from a highschool flunky cop! The officer should have either escorted them or called for an ambulance….easy call if you have some brains and common sense, WOW and this person carries a gun…..should be terminated, simple.

If this was true, there would be many more accidents than there are. The fact is that most people exceed the speed limit and are technically guilty of “speeding” on a daily basis. That does not mean that they are “out of control.”

nowhere in either JT’s write-up or the newspaper article does it say they were “DRIVING OUT OF CONTROL”

True – but this is the kind of story escalation that happens every time a cop is reported to have done something wrong or stupid. They story gets retold and embellished in ways that make the civilian in the encounter sound worse and worse so that the cop can be presented as acting not only reasonably but with restraint.

Remember the young woman with the circuit board with flashing lights on her shirt at Logan Airport who wound up facing a phalanx of police armed with machine guns? By the end of the first day she was regularly portrayed as “acting suspiciously,” as “edgy” and “nervous,” carrying “a fake bomb,” and “trying to avoid security.” None of it was true.

We see it here as in response to your comment Sally has come back with “Speeding is driving out of control.” But just as there no indication he was driving “out of control,” there is no indication in the article that he was speeding. It’s just made up. It’s what always happens.

Regardless of how they were driving, regardless of which hospital they chose to go to (women having babies usually prefer their own attending physician) and regardless of the traffic conditions the police officer here was criminally negligent.

This was a medical emergency and as soon as the officer was notified of the medical emergency he was acting negligent in detaining them further. He risked the health of the mother and even the life of the child.

The proper thing to do in such situtations is to either permit the couple to continue on their way or if he feels he just has to issue a ticket to an anxious father rushing his wife to the hospital for delivery, then he should have escorted them to the hospital, and once the mother was safely in the hands of trained medical staff, then issue the citation.

Used to be cops were smart enough (and human enough) to do that. Apparently that is no longer the case.

OK, these folks exhibited some poor judgment, trying to make it not to the nearest, but to a particular hospital, DURING RUSH HOUR, which the news article said they had decided would be an exception to trying to get to their favored hospital, BUT….

nowhere in either JT’s write-up or the newspaper article does it say they were “DRIVING OUT OF CONTROL”. Why the reporter felt it was relevant to mention the father’s numerous speeding citations I don’t know, but there was no indication of “driving out of control”!

Calling 911 would have been a good idea; are these folks the only couple in North America (besides me and my husband) who don’t have a cell phone? They could have easily called 911 from the traffic jam… if they hadn’t been so distracted by their situation otherwise.

They should have called 911 and informed them of their situation.
And if this woman was in that dire of a situation, she should have called an AMBULANCE. Turning your flashers on and driving out of control does not make you an emergency vehicle